Austin Giant Chess

Chess outdoors in Wooldridge park on Sunday November 3rd!

Unrated 4 round G/20 tournament for all ages in 2 sections: one K-12 and one open section. Limited to the first 40 paid players. No elimination – play all rounds whether you win or lose!

Everyone is welcome to participate even if you have never played in a chess tournament before!

The late Chris Riley was a very dedicated and passionate supporter of introducing chess to the community. He volunteered on most Saturdays from 2003 – 2023 at Wooldridge Square Park,
near his home in downtown Austin, to organize chess matches for all ages and abilities with a Giant Chess set kept at the park. His efforts helped attract people to a beautiful park that is underutilized for many enjoyable moments for the players as well as interested spectators.

2024 Chris Riley Memorial Wooldridge Square -Park Chess Tournament - Austin Chess Tournaments Chess outdoors in Wooldridge Park! Unrated 4 round G/20 on 11/3/24 for all ages in 2 sections. No elimination – play all rounds whether you win or lose!

In Chess, openings are well studied, middlegames are where talent is displayed or mistakes are made, but it is in the end game that chess matches become the most memorable. Chris Riley's life inspired many, and his end game was filled with grace and purpose. You will be missed. Rest in peace.

Former Austin City Council Member Chris Riley dead at 60 Chris Riley, a former Austin City Council member known for his love of parks and public spaces, passed away on Sunday at the age of 60. He had been battling ...

The Statesman also ran a nice profile on our founder, Chris Riley:

Chris Riley will leave a changed Austin. He wants others to keep legacy going | Grumet "There are not that many other cities that offer that kind of opportunity, where you can just dive in and fix it and make it right," Chris Riley said.

A nice profile article:

Chris Riley Prepares the Next Move For Giant Chess at Wooldridge Square Although he’s often called the originator of Austin’s urbanist movement, Chris Riley is really just a guy who believes in the potential of cities as places for people. As a former City …

We are out today at Wooldridge Square Park for the first time in a while to celebrate our founder, Chris Riley. Come out and join us 12-3pm!

What a fun day at Wooldridge Park today! Longtime pal Michael McGill played some great games, including an intense match with Chaney; our old giant-chess buddy Rafael came by with Haley and their budding chess champ, Emilio; and longtime friend, housing-reform crusader, and Planning Commissioner Greg Anderson came by with his UT urban studies class. Hope everyone makes it back soon!

Had a great time at Giant Chess today with my longtime friend from college, Rebecca. We started with the very first sequence listed in Modern Chess Openings, a variation of the King's Gambit Accepted -- which is about as far as I've gotten in that book -- and played the game out from there. Just umpteen thousand more openings to go, and we'll have this game down!

Big cheers to James (on the left below), who came by for a few excellent games this past Saturday, and Kevin, who joined in for a great finale!

There was some super fun chess today at Wooldridge! Vani and Shantha coached Disha in a great game, and then Disha faced off against her sister Dia in an epic match. They're about to head off to Harvard and Cornell for grad school. The future is in good hands!

This week’s champ was Burton, who played an amazing series with his dedicated coaches, Joe and Liz. Looking forward to seeing this crew again!